Perceptions of the economy are improving

As this post at the Monkey Cage blog notes today, this is very good news for President Obama’s re-election prospects. The rate of improvement in the economy is more directly related to the chances of presidential incumbent re-election than overall economic conditions themselves. And perceptions of improvement in the economy are going up.

Of course, this pattern needs to sustain itself for the next ten months or so if Obama is to benefit from it. Should the pattern suddenly reverse in 2012 it would instead benefit his eventual Republican challenger, politically-speaking.